Stanton, Koehler help Marlins end 8-game skid

Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins hits a three run home run during a… (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images )

April 15, 2014|By Craig Davis, Sun Sentinel

MIAMI — The predicament screamed for a hero.

"The only way we can get out of this thing is somebody needs to step up and say it's over and done with," manager Mike Redmond said after the Marlins' losing streak reached eight on Monday.

Who better than the man who might as well wear a giant S on his chest? Giancarlo Stanton wasted no time, slamming a Stephen Strasburg changeup more than 420 feet to center field for a three-run home run in the first inning Tuesday at Marlins Park.

With Stanton tying a career high with five RBI and Tom Koehler (2-1) holding Washington to one hit for seven innings, the losing streak is over and done.

They had plenty of help in a resounding 11-2 rout of the Nationals and nemesis Strasburg, who has more wins against Miami (seven) than any other team.

"You saw an entire team step up. Tommy Koehler set the tone, did a great job. You have a tough lineup to plow through and I think he did a great job. It was great to see our offense strike early," Redmond said.

After being mauled in their first four meetings, it took an aggressive response to break the Nationals' stronghold.

That included a bench-clearing staredown after Washington's Ian Desmond took exception to a fastball under his chin from Koehler. Desmond and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia went jaw to jaw, and both teams converged on home plate, but no punches were thrown.

"Guys tend to get a little upset when they get crowded. But at the same time, they're attacking fastballs out over the plate," Koehler said. "We've been beat too many times late in the game over these last couple series and that's because we haven't established in."

This night the Marlins let their bats do the talking in a 15-hit onslaught.

After getting only three hits and striking out 12 times against Strasburg in a loss last week in Washington, the Marlins came out swinging against the hard-throwing right-hander, much like last July 12 when they chased him after two innings with seven runs.

They had four hits this time in the first inning, and Adeiny Hechavarria celebrated his 25th birthday with a triple to lead off the second.

Marcel Ozuna, who missed a game with a bruised foot after fouling a pitch off it, bruised Strasburg's ERA with a run-scoring single, one of four hits by the center fielder, who scored three times.

Casey McGehee muscled up on a belt-high curve for a two-out, two-run single that pushed the lead to 6-0 in the second.

A 28-pitch first inning didn't bode well for Koehler's chances against Strasburg. But Koehler, whose bulldog mentality made him a prime candidate for streak breaker, breezed through the next two innings on 21 pitches.

After Anthony Rendon led off the game with a single and was erased on a double play, Koehler limited the high-scoring Nationals to five walks. In a gutty performance, he threw 112 pitches, only 64 for strikes.

According to Koehler, Desmond told him to, “throw the ball over the plate. Obviously, that’s how you get strikes.”

Koehler said he appreciated Saltalamacchia standing up for him.

“You always want your catcher to have your back. We’re still building relaitonships here. For him to step up like that and tell him, ‘Listen, don’t talk to my pitcher that way,’ it definitely means a lot. It’s something that hopefully can build a little momentum and bring the team together.”

As for Desmond’s beef, Saltalamacchia said, “Little surprised, I guess. Not sure what the issue was. Maybe he was frustrated or something. We were trying to pitch our game. Koehler was on tonight. He was throwing real well. We've got to mix our pitches. Last few nights we were missing over the middle of the plate. Tonight we had to really concentrate on getting on both sides of the plate.”

Thanks, teacher

As part of Major League Baseball's celebration of Jackie Robinson Night, the Marlins began a "Marlins Fishing for Teachers" program in which team employees will recognize their most impactful teachers. President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill, the only African-American presiding over baseball operations for a MLB club, honored his high school teacher, Patricia Dunn from Cincinnati Country Day School, in a pregame ceremony.